Card stop and release mechanism



Feb. 11, 1947. E. H. GRQGAN ,4

' CARD STOP AND RELEASE MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 26', 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 INVENTOR. [AMER l-l. GROGHIV Feb. 11, 1947. I GRQGAN 2,415,557

CARD STOP AND RELEASE MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 26, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet? Patented Feb. i1, 194? UNlTED STATES PATENT F FlC Divided and this application September 7, 1945, Serial No. 615,004

Claims.

This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial Number 579,719 filed February 25, 1945.

The invention relates to an apparatus for stopping and releasing cards at timed intervals, which is particularly useful in printing photographs in large quantities. t is a feature that the ap paratus can be synchronized with various operations which must be performed for example in the course of the printing step, including feeding the card, exposing it and releasing it from the machine. The invention is explained in connection with apparatus and process described in the above identified parent application.

The invention is illustrated and may be understood by reference to the accompanying drawmgs.

Figure l is a perspective view partly in section of the machine, the view being from the left and front thereof.

Figure 2 is a detail in perspective of the stop and release mechanism from the opposite side, shown in Fig. 1. It illustrates a safety feature which prevents breakage or other damage in the event the machine becomes clogged or out of adjustment.

Figure 3 is a detail in perspective of the stop and release mechanism by which the unexposed card which has been picked up from the bulk supply and dropped into the feed chute is dropped at an exactly timed instant into the printing zone. The viewing position is the same as Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, a container or magazine for holding a bulk supply of cards H is indicated at Hi. It should be noted that this box is placed at an angle out of the perpendicular so that the cards will tend to remain in a compact mass by their own weight. The cards are held in position and forced toward the front of the magazine by a card follower shown in detail in the above referred to application, to automatically move the cards to the feeding position. This device is driven by a belt and pulleys l2 and I3 from main drive shaft I4 driven by pulley l5 and belt H5. The details of the card feeding and its operation are described in my co-pending application 579,719.

The cards are picked up by means of suction cups H, which are attached to vacuum lines I8 rigidly secured in rocker arm |=9. The position of the suction cups may be adjusted by sliding the lines forward or backward.

During operation, the suction cups 1! press against the foremost card in the box due to the forward motion of arm I9. At this moment, a

. 2 valve 29 opens evacuating lines 58. The vacuum is sufficient to hold the foremost card firmly and to pull it out of the box as arm l9 moves away from magazine Ill. The valve then releases the vacuum and the pressure is restored to atmosphere, releasing the card which drops down the chute 2 i.

In order to prevent the card from falling out of the chute, guide wings 22 define the outer part of the feeding chute 2 i.

To assist in this operation and to be certain that the card falls into its proper position, the machine is preferably tilted slightly to one side or the other by setting the mechanism at an analong the left hand side of the chute.

gle. A illustrated in the drawings, the machine is tilted to left so that the card tends to slide The chute may be otherwise substantially vertical unless it is tilted up in front such that the card will fall along the back of chute 2! as it falls.

Arm I9 is keyed to a shaft 23 which is journaled in a bracket 2t attached to the frame of the machine. Also keyed to shaft 23 is arm or cam follower :25 which is shaped to conform to a cam 26. The cam in turn is keyed to a shaft "2'! which is supported pivotally in brackets 28 attached to the frame of the machine. Shaft 27 is rocked back and forth by means of rocker arm 29 rigidly attached to shaft 21 and pivotally attached to link 30, which in turn is pivoted to a bell crank which is driven from the main power shaft I l. A reciprocating motion through link 30 and arm 29 is imparted to cam 25, which in turn imparts a rocking motion to arm 25 and arm I 9. Thus with each revolution of shaft i i, the suction cups I! move forward to pick up a card and then move backward into position to drop the card down the chute 2i, feeding the cards one at a time down the chute.

Spring 31 is attached to the frame and to 19 in order to pull it forward when the cam 26 is in position for the cards to be picked up.

The rocking motion imparted to shaft 2? likewise imparts a rocking motion to arm 32, which is keyed thereto, and to link 33, pivoted to arm 32 and to lever 34 (the pivot being behind cam 26 in Fig. 1). Levers 34 and 35 are parts of one continuous rocker arm which actuates the entire mechanism below the card feeder. The arm is pivoted at point 36 to a bracket 31 attached to the frame of the machine.

Lever 34 is given an arcuate shape, the extent of which is governed by its length so as to limit and determine the distance through which it travels. Since levers 34 and Siactuate all of the various parts of the printing mechanism ex cept the feeding portion, the magnitude of the movement at any one point must be carefully determined in order that the proper effect may be obtained. As will appear below, the magnitude of motion of certain parts of the machine must be greater than others in order to synchronize the various actions.

Actuated by lever 34 is an assembly for stopping and dropping the cards fed from box ill, and is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to Fig. 2, a member 38 roughly tri angular in shape is pivotally attached to lever 34 so that it will move forward and backward with the rocking motion thereof. For purposes of simplifying the drawings and reducing the numbers appearing thereon, the only part of thi assembly which is numbered in Fig. 1 is the triangular member 38. This will serve to orient the reader.

The triangular member 38 receives a downward thrust from spring 39 which is maintained under compression on guide 40 which slides freely through a hole in bracket 4| attached to lever 34. The other end of guide is rigidly attached. The action of the the bar 43 pushing it forward toward the ma.

chine; and'at another part of the stroke, face 44 of member 38 rests against the other side of bar 43 pulling it away from the body of the machine. The forward face 42 rests against bar 43 as lever 34 begins its forward movement. Bar; 43 can be retracted no further than stop pin 45,

which is set in bracket 45, which in turn is attached to the machine. Guide rods 47 attached to bar 43 are slidably associated with guide loops 43 and 49 in bracket 45. Thus, the rods may slide backward and forward by moving bar 43. Springs 59, which'rest against bar 43 and guide loop 49, have a shock absorbing effect and tend to limit the extent of movement of the rods. The fiattened ends 51 of these rods, when they are in the forward position, rest against the feed chute.

In some instances, a recess may be placed in the face of the feed chute 2! in order to more positively block the falling card.

mounted on bracket 48. As the forward motion h continues, face 42 rides free of bar 43 and the apex of the triangle crosses the bar to a position between it and the frame of the machine. An instant in advance of this, a card has been picked up, dropped down the chute, and rests against the flattened end 5i of guide rods 47. As the forward motion of lever 34 continues, the member 38 passes completely over arm 53 and the compression effect of spring 39 as well as gravity, causes member 38 to drop downward until arrested by adjustable pin 55 as it falls on arm 53. Pin 55 is held in position by means of bracket 55 and its position may be changed by sliding the pin 55 through bracket 56 in one direction or the other. As the arm 34 begins its backward motion, the pin 55 slides off of arm 53 permitting member 38 to drop downward and face 44 rests on the leading edge of bar 43. Because of the thrust of spring 39 against bar 43, the guide rods 41 are pulled sharply away from the chute 2| thus permitting the card to drop on down the chute. The bar comes up against stop 45 and face 44 rides up and over bar 43 until the apex of member 38 passes over the top. Face 42 then pushes the bar forward due to its shape and downward thrust of spring 39. The mechanism is now in position to catch the next card that falls down the chute.

This mechanism may be adjusted so that the exact time for dropping the card into printing position can be determined and adjusted at will. The extension 52 has a, fixed value. However, by making arm 53 with one flat face which can be turned at various angles from the horizontal, it becomes possible to vary the length of time that it takes for the extension 52 to ride over arm 53 by increasing or decreasing the amount of face exposed. Moreover, by moving the rod backward or forward, it becomes possible to adjust the length of time that it will hold up member 33 by resting on member 53. Between these two adjustments, the exact timing can be accomplished with a greater degree of accuracy.

Referring to Fig. 2, member 38 is pivoted at 5'i to lever 34. One apex of the triangle is extended to form an offset arm which continues at an angle to form a vertical extension 58. A retaining plate 55 is placed over the pivot point and part of extension 58, holding member 38 in operative association with lever 34 as illustrated. A part of the arm 58 extends vertically beyond the pivot point against a stop or pin 60, on lever 34. The upwardly extending portion 58 is urged toward pin 60 by spring 5| attached to arm 52 which extends rearward from lever 34 and is bent at an angle and provided with a hole for attaching spring Hi. If the mechanism becomes jammed in such a way that the forward motion of member 38 is unduly restricted, the mechanism just described serves as a safety feature. Sufficient force exerted on the forward Part of 38 would cause it to pivot at point 57 thrusting the upper end of 58 forward, thus relieving the strain. Normally, this pivoting is prevented by the tension on spring 6|.

Referring again to Fig. 1, when a card stopped by plunger rods 41 is released, it drops down the chute into an Opening in the top of the plate holder 63, which is positioned in front of platen 54 as illustrated in the parent application. The platen is partly withdrawn from printing position so that the card drops into the plate holder. The platen is designed to fit into an opening in the plate holder and during printing is thrust into the opening thus-holding the card firmly against the negative plate or film. The card is prevented from falling through the plate holder into chute 66 by means of a plunger bar 55, which passes under the platen and the plate holder to bar the outlet of the chute 2|. The outward movement of arm 35 thrusts the stop away from the machine permitting the exposed card to drop into the discharge chute 56 and be carried away. An automatic trip device actuated by lever 35 controls the movement of the platen relative to feeding, exposing and discharging the card. This operation is described in the parent application, as is the mode of exposing the card.

I claim as my invention:

1. In timing'mechanism for stopping and releasing unit articles in a chute comprising a stop device comprising a bar associated with card stopping members, a traveling member with angular disposed faces for contacting the bar, one of said faces moving the bar toward the chute and the other moving the bar away from the chute, the face causing the forward motion having an extension for part of its length, an arm positioned to engage said extension during part of the forward travel, thereby lifting said traveling member out of engagement with said bar as the member continues its forward movement, an

adjustable pin associated with the body of the traveling member, said pin serving to stop the downward drop of said member after the extension has moved past the arm and after the traveling member has begun its movement in the opposite direction, thereby holding the opposite angular face of said member out of engagement with said bar for a predetermined time,

2. A mechanism for stopping and releasing cards and the like in a chute, comprising a driving means, a traveling member with angular disposed faces pivoted to said driving means, a stop on said driving means engageable with a part of the traveling member on one side of the pivot point thereby providing a limit to the distance said member can be pivoted in one direction, a resilient member forming a link between the driving means and the traveling member, said resilient member tending to urge said driving member toward said stop, a second resilient member associated with the traveling member on the other side of the pivot point tending to urge said traveling member in a direction away from said stop, and means actuated by said faces to move across and out of a card chute thereby stopping and releasing a falling card.

3. A stop and release mechanism comprising a support, a lever, a reciprocating member pivotal- 1y attached to the lever, said member comprising angularly disposed faces, a lateral extension of part only of the leading face thereof, a horizontally adjustable pin spaced above the extension, 9, spring urging said reciprocating member downwardly on one side of the point of pivotal attachment, a second spring urging the member upwardly on the opposite side of pivotal attachment, a boss on the lever limiting the normal upward pivotal movement of the member, card stop means associated with guides on the support and movable horizontally across the path of fall of a fed card, said card stop means being actuated by a thrust member acted upon by the angularly disposed faces of said reciprocating member, and adjustable means for disengaging said reciprocating member from the thrust member by contact of said lateral extension therewith, said means also delaying the fall of said reciprocating member by contact therewith of said horizontally adjustable pin.

4. A stop and release mechanism useful for feeding cards, comprising a support, a reciprocating member of substantially triangular shape, one side of which is generally horizontal, said member having an angularly disposed wing at one apex, pivotal means disposed intermediate said wing, a spring urging said wing against a stop, a second spring urging the triangular member to a limited extent in a direction at an angle to the direction of urge of the first mentioned spring and away from the stop, a lateral extension to one non-horizontal face of the triangular member, a horizontally adjustable pin adjacent the generally horizontal side of the triangular member, card stop means associated with guides on th support and movable horizontally across the path of fall of a fed card, said means comprising a thrust member actuated by the nonhorizontal faces of the triangular member, disengaging means for lifting said triangular member from the thrust member, said disengaging means including a pin supported vertically in said frame with a bar extending at an angle to the pin, the position of said bar being such as to engage said lateral extension during a portion only of the forward movement of said triangular member and to engage said horizontally adjustable pin during a portion of the travel of said triangular member, thereby to delay the engagement of the remaining face of the triangular member with the thrust member.

5. A card stop and release mechanism comprising a support, a driven member to produce regular reciprocations, a reciprocating member pivotally attached to said driven member, said reciprocating member having an angularly disposed wing in which the pivot is located, a pair of springs acting upon said reciprocating member on opposite sides of the pivot and at an angle to each other to limit the extent of pivotal motion thereof, angularly disposed bearing faces on said reciprocating member, a lateral extension to one of said faces, a horizontally disposed adjustable pin spaced above said extension, card stop means comprising a portion movable into and out of the path of travel of a falling card, a spring and a thrust member associated with said card stop means which is slidably associated with guides in the support, said thrust member being acted upon by one face of the reciprocating member during forward travel and by another face of the reciprocating member during backward travel, disengaging means disposed in the support for disengaging the reciprocating member from the thrust member by contact of the disengaging means with said lateral extension and, at a later period of the travel, by contact with. said horizontally adjustable pin, thereby to delay engagement of the other bearing face with the thrust member.

ELMER H. GROGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 486,028 Bundy Nov. 8, 1892 2,201,355 Streckfuss May 21, 1940 2,050,022 Shipley Aug. 4, 1936 2,326,765 Deane et al Aug. 17, 1943 2,084,097 Long June 15, 1937 1,620,068 Bryce Mar. 8, 1927 

